Metro

15 dead, thousands displaced as Cyclone Gombe wrecks Mozambique

Published

1 year ago

March 15, 2022

Latest report from Mozambique says there have been 100,000 displaced persons and 15 casualties from recent flood at Cyclone Gombe, areas of northern and central Mozambique, officials said Monday.

According to official figures, about 12,000 houses were totally destroyed while 11,000 were seriously damaged.

The dead include five members of the same family in the Angoche coastal area of Nampula province, Governor Mety Gondola said. The number of injured is now at least 50, the prime minister’s office announced.

Gombe is the most recent of a series of cyclones that have hit southern Africa so far this year.

Tropical cyclone is also called typhoon or hurricane, it is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.

Cyclone draw energy from the sea surface and maintaines its strength as long as it remains over warm water, a tropical cyclone generates winds that exceed 119 km (74 miles) per hour. In extreme cases winds may exceed 240 km (150 miles) per hour, and gusts may surpass 320 km (200 miles) per hour.

In August 2019, Mozambique witnessed its first cyclone called “Cyclone Idai and Kenneth”, According to UNICEF, Death toll from the hurricane was 603 while 1,641 were injured. It The disaster affected Zambézia, Sofala, Manica, Tete and Inhambane provinces (50 districts in total) with Houses destroyed: 223,947 houses destroyed and 160,927 persons displaced.

Some coastal districts in Nampula province remained isolated on Monday, without power, water and communication.

In terms of public infrastructure affected, two bridges have been destroyed, 16 health units and 113 schools have been reported damaged. More than 140 power lines have been knocked down, according to official figures.

On the historic island of Ilha de Moçambique, six people died and the cyclone toppled several trees that were centuries old. Due to widespread flooding, many residents are desperate and the local government is using boats to provide relief as it is not possible to reach people on foot or by car, Ilha district administrator Momade Ali, told state television TVM.

“The situation is more dramatic because some spaces that we had already prepared as reception centers have also been affected,” he said. “There are families hosting about 40 to 50 people in their homes,” he added.

Cyclone Gombe weakened over the weekend but continued to batter northern and central Mozambique with rain and strong winds. Virtually all rivers in the area have reached alert levels and many roads have become impassable.

Related Topics:cyclone gombe Featured Mozambique

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Metro

Rwandan President, Kagame sacks over 200 military personnel in major shake-up

Published

8 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

Rwandan President, Paul Kagame has sacked over 200 soldiers including top military brass and commanders from the Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) in a massive shake-up.

The dismissed officers include the former Commander of the Reserve Forces, Maj. Gen. Aloys Muganga, and Brig. Gen. Francis Mutiganda, a former Head of External Security in the National Intelligence Services, as well as 14 senior officers.

The announcement of the sacking of the officers which was contained in a statement released by the RDF on Wednesday, did not give reason for the sackings, but the move come a day after the president reshuffled the top echelon of the country’s military, which saw the firing of the Defence Minister and an Army Chief.

The sacking of the soldiers has further heightened tension between Rwanda and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, with each side accusing the other of working with rebels to topple one another’s governments, according to reports in local media.

Metro

UN war crimes court declares Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga unfit to stand trial

Published

9 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Akanimoh Etim

An 88-year-old Rwandan genocide suspect, Felicien Kabuga has been declared unfit to stand trial by judges at a United Nations War Crimes Court in The Hague.

In a decision published by the court on Wednesday, the judges acknowledged that Kabuga was no longer able to actively participate in his trial, and rather proposed an alternative process that aims to resemble a trial but does not allow for a conviction instead of stopping the proceedings completely.

“The trial chamber finds Mr. Kabuga is no longer capable of meaningful participation in his trial,” the publication said.

“The International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, therefore, finds that Mr. Kabuga is not fit for trial and is very unlikely to regain fitness in the future.

“It is therefore agreed to adopt an alternative finding procedure that resembles a trial as closely as possible, but without the possibility of a conviction,” it added.

Kabuga who was arrested in Paris where he had been in hiding under a false identity for several years, was one of the most wanted suspects of the Rwandan genocide, and was charged at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda with genocide and crimes against humanity.

At his initial arraignment in September last year, the ICC heard that Kabuga was alleged to have been the main financier of the ethnic Hutu militias who slaughtered over 800,000 minority Tutsis as well as political opponents during the genocide in 1994.

According to the UN, Kabuga, a wealthy businessman from the Hutu ethnic group, had established and financed an infamous media outfit, Radio Télévision Libre des Mille Collines (RTLM), which was notorious for inciting violence and promoting the targeting and elimination of individuals from the Tutsi ethnic group who were referred to as “Cockroaches”.

Kabuga was arrested in Paris in 2020 after decades on the run and sent for trial in The Hague where he pleaded not guilty to charges of sponsoring the infamous Hutu radical radio station urging people to kill Tutsi “cockroaches”.

He also denied supplying machetes and supporting the murderous Interahamwe Hutu militia.